I don't have a ferret but I've contemplated getting one. I've hesitated because I know that they need a lot of activity/games/things to do. Also, with Dodger and Minnow taking up so much time and being so snooty about newcomers, I'm a bit nervous about introducing a small animal to the mix.

Plus my family thinks that keeping caged-animals is cruel. But ferrets need a lot of time outside the cage, right? Can they be litter-trained? Are they like rabbits and chew on everything/anything they come across? Do you need to own more than 1 ferret to keep them happy? Thanks

Let's see photos of your ferrets!

My friend rescued this ferret and called him Tootsie but she ended up finding him a better home with experienced ferret owners!

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"Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to."

I don't recomend ferrets for everyone. they are great pets, but they do need at least 3 hours of play time outside their cage! we made one of our spare rooms into a "ferret room" so we don't have to worry about the dogs being to rough with them They can be litter trained and they are fairly clean animals, they have a unique smell though. They love to chew on/hide things. My hubby lost his wallet for about a week then we found it all chewed up in the couch our first ferret smoochie was perfectly happy living on her own but she accepted the others fairly quickly. Our farrets LOVE my parents cat Spazz they chase each other around for hours. I'll get some pictures on here as soon as i can!

We don't have any now but I have had some in the past. I love the little stinkers. I looked at some at the pet store one day and they were the sweetest little guys. But they wanted $150 for them. Maybe someday.....

Hi Dog Mom, Interesting you posted this. My son (he's living in my home - I am not - and he's an adult) has thrown out the suggestion that he'd like to get a ferrett. I'm less thrilled with the idea. Concerned how much space they need (how big a cage), and also about if it will mess up my house. Good news is he's looking through a rescue group who will get him one that is spayed and descented. I don't know, he works a lot of hours and his girlfriend has a Pom so is it a good idea to get this new pet??? Tks for your input, it's an interesting thread and very timely for me.

I've never had a pom so i don't know what their temperment is like. the cage our ferrets sleep in is 4 foot by 5.5 foot ( we have 3 ferrets) and during the day they have a whole bedroom to themselves. they are somewhat easily trained but like anything they need time to learn. I've said in my earlier posts they have a unique smell. they are litter trained and eat pellet like food that's fairly expensive $45.00 CDN for about 2 kgs. they need special litter, they should not have cat litter, they get "colds" and can die from them. they are also prone to cancers and adreanal (sp) disease. we've gotten all of our ferrets from people who didn't want then when they started nipping and acting up. They aren't for everyone though, ours are really socal and love being around people, because we took the time teaching them not to be rough and nippy. a friend of mine had a ferret that would attack anything that moved and it would draw blood when it bit. they ended up putting it to sleep because it bit her son. Like any pet thought research well before hand.

I have three. Frodo, Sam and Gizmo. They are all males and all almost ten months old. Our home is Gizmo's third, so obviously ferrets are not for everyone and should be researched thoroughly before you make that "isn't it cute" impulse buy.

Plus my family thinks that keeping caged-animals is cruel. But ferrets need a lot of time outside the cage, right? Can they be litter-trained? Are they like rabbits and chew on everything/anything they come across? Do you need to own more than 1 ferret to keep them happy? Thanks

My niece has had a ferret for the last 3 years. Hers is very sweet and adorable, but they are very active and intelligent and need a lot of playtime and stimulation. 2 is better, so they always have a playmate.

My niece's ferret is not in her cage very often and is mostly loose in my niece's bedroom and sleeps with her. She is litter trained, but still messes around anyway.

They have a strong odour, which you either like or hate!

Vet care is very expensive here for them, since they must go to an exotic vet!

I have two. They are the neatest little guys. We didn't intend on ever having them but a friend out of the city asked if I ever came across some for adoption she would like one. She had one years earlier. Well the time came and three were looking for homes. There were all together. We brought them all home with their fancy house and had to stay with us for a couple months until we took them to their new home. I have been in the pet business for 18 yrs but in that time I had never dealt with them. I was not prepared for how they play at all. Those little buggers look like they are about to attack you with their arched back, hissing and bouncing all over the place. We had all of them out running around trying to figure them out when my son squeaked a toy. The female hated it, she flew through the air towards her cage. I happened to be standing a little too close when she latched onto my leg. We figured right away that she didn't like it, didn't do that again. We quickly got used to them and attached ourselves to the wee won. He was 4 months old and sweet as can be. The other two went to their new home and baby stayed with us. We called him baby because we didn't intend for him to stay, still called baby. Once we were used to the way they play it was great. I would have to say their personalities are between a cat and dog. You stomp towards him and he runs, you step back and he chases you. All the time bouncing and hissing. They are into everything all the time. We walk them in the neighbourhood, they just love those kids. They come in groups and the ferrets have a hay day. Baby met a little yorkie around the corner that he loved to play with. Though he was happy on his own, everything I read said to have more than one. I placed an add looking for a buddy for Baby. Along came Charlie. They are great friends and it is good to have two but the time when there were three was just too much. Very hard to keep track of all of them going in all different directions. They are both very friendly, never tried to bite anyone ever and watching them sleep with their blankies is so sweet. I would recommend a ferret over any other sm fuzzy animal. I think they make great pets. I have heard of some that are nippers but the two I have are angels.